Panthers Top Jets Thanks to Two Late Scores

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Luke Kuechly of the Carolina Panthers recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown, giving his team a lead over the Jets in the second half.CreditCreditEd Mulholland/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

By The Associated Press

Nov. 26, 2017

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Jets’ playoff hope went from slim to highly unlikely on Sunday as their latest fourth-quarter collapse doomed them to a 35-27 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Coach Todd Bowles’s Jets (4-7) have five losses in their past six games, and they have blown fourth-quarter leads in three of those defeats.

In the latest one, Luke Kuechly returned a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown, and Kaelin Clay had a 60-yard punt return for another score to cap a stunning swing in which the visiting Panthers turned a 20-18 deficit into a 32-20 lead in just over two minutes.

“Self-inflicted wounds,” Bowles said after the game. He added, “You’re not going to beat a good football team like that.”

It was the fourth straight victory for the Panthers (8-3), who moved into a tie with the Saints for first place in the N.F.C. South after New Orleans’s 26-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The two teams meet next Sunday in New Orleans.

“I always hear, ‘That was an ugly win,’ but I’ve never heard such a thing as a pretty loss,” Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said. “Either way it goes, we would prefer to get a win today. A great team win. It wasn’t a blockbuster outing offensively for us, statistics-wise. But at the end of the day, we found ways to win the football game.”

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Carolina’s Cam Newton was upended as he scored on a fourth-quarter 2-point conversion. Newton finished with 168 passing yards as the Panthers won their fourth straight.CreditBill Kostroun/Associated Press

With the Jets leading by 20-18, Kuechly scooped up a fumble by Josh McCown, the Jets’ quarterback, who let the ball slip out of his hands as he was being sacked by Wes Horton. After Kuechly’s score, Newton hurdled Jets linebacker Jordan Jenkins on a 2-point conversion to give Carolina a 26-20 lead.

The Jets were forced to punt after their next drive stalled. Clay fielded Lachlan Edwards’s kick, spun out of a tackle attempt and raced to the end zone. Carolina failed on a 2-point conversion attempt but suddenly found itself leading by 32-20 with 9 minutes 54 seconds remaining.

“We didn’t panic,” Clay said. “The game is never over. We just kept playing.”

But the Jets kept playing, too. Capping a 75-yard drive, McCown connected with Jermaine Kearse on a 3-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 32-27 with 5:32 left.

“I was proud of how we responded and got back down there and got a touchdown and gave ourselves a chance,” McCown said. “I think that’s a good step for us,” he added, though he said the Jets “have to find a way” to avoid costly mistakes.

The Panthers finished the scoring with a 45-yard field goal from Graham Gano, his third of the game, with 21 seconds remaining. The drive was extended when Mike Pennel was flagged for roughing the passer on a third-and-12 play, sealing the Jets’ loss.

“When you win games, you’re a playoff contender,” Bowles said. “When you lose games, you’re not. Right now, we’re not a playoff contender. We have to go back to the drawing board.”

Robby Anderson was a bright spot with two touchdown catches — including a 54-yarder — giving him five straight games with a score.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page D2 of the New York edition with the headline: 2 Returns for Scores In a 2-Minute Span Knock Out the Jets. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe